Sites found for possible new hostel

Enderts Beach, Mill Creek spots are under consideration

Redwood National and State Parks is considering two possible sites in Del Norte County for a new hostel to replace a popular hostel near Klamath that closed in 2010.

One site under consideration is off Enderts Beach Road and the other is in the Mill Creek Acquisition on Hamilton Road.

The sites were chosen because of their proximity to the California Coastal Trail, access to park resources and recreation opportunities and access to commercial visitor services.

The Enderts Beach Road site would be on the relatively level coastal terrace between the road and the hill slope.

“Another opportunity we have by putting a hostel in this area, is that we could have more of a presence and decrease some of the vandalism and criminal activity,” said Aida Parkinson, resource specialist with Redwood Parks.

The Mill Creek site is near the site of the old Miller-Rellim lodge.

The previous 30-bed hostel on Wilson Creek Road provided more than 115,000 nights of accommodations in more than 25 years of operation by Redwood Parks and was a popular stop for travelers. The hostel was named one of the top five in North America by Lonely Planet and one of the two best Hostelling International USA sites in the world.

Built by Louis DeMartin in 1889 as a farmhouse with 10 bedrooms for his many children, it was remodeled in 1907 to two stories.

According to the Del Norte County Record of Oct. 30, 1880, DeMartin charged travelers 25 cents for home-cooked meals and the same price for a bed for the night.

The building eventually became too decrepit to be maintained as a hostel.

The park did not consider rebuilding at the Wilson Creek site, because it is of cultural significance to local Native American tribes and it may be the site of a burial ground.

Plans call for the new hostel to be roughly the same size as the old hostel, and to include a communal kitchen and common area.

“At this stage we are going to the public to see if anyone has any issues or concerns that we should be addressing since we’re doing a planning process to replace the hostel,” said Parkinson.

Redwood Parks encourages public comment on the proposed hostel locations until Oct. 15.

Comments can be sent to: Superintendents, Attn: Hostel, Redwood National and State Parks, 1111 Second Street, Crescent City, CA 95531.

Emailed comments can be sent to Aida Parkinson at
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Reach Adam Spencer at
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